Monday, October 6, 2008

Cupcake Review, Part 1- Pittsburgh

So, in my travels, I visited CoCo's Cupcakes in Pittsburgh, Pa (http://www.cocoscupcakecafe.com/main.php).It's located in a cute area, with lots of art galleries. There's ample seating both indoors and out, and the staff was very pleasant. We arrived in the later afternoon, and selected 6 cupcakes to sample.

The packaging is cute and simple, and there was tons of adorable cupcake art on the walls.

Since I am interested in having my own cupcakery, I asked to see the kitchen, and they were nice enough to oblige. The staff answered all of my questions and were very helpful. I can't thank them enough for giving me a peek at a working cupcake kitchen.Anyhoo, the main event! We immediately went home and tore into the cupcakes. Overall, they were really great. Even my dad, who doesn't usually care for sweets, enjoyed a bite or two.

So, from left to right, top to bottom, they are: vanilla-vanilla, orange-kahlua, orange-chocolate ganache, vanilla chocolate ganache, chocolate-vanilla, and vegan margarita. First of all, I looooooove the way they piped the vanilla frostings! it's so pretty. Also, they use an italian buttercream, which is very light and not too sweet, tastes almost like whipped cream. The orange cakes were great, but then again, I love that flavor. The Kahlua buttercream was good, but didn't really taste like Kahlua. I liked the margarita the best, and if I hadn't known, I never would have guessed it was vegan.So, overall, excellent cupcakes, definitely opened my eyes to a few new tricks (I gotta try that frosting!) There are other cupcakeries in Pittsburgh, but I didn't have time to visit them all. Next time!Next up, Charleston, SC.